Bulldogs in the Final 4...

I guess since I'm more than a month behind I really need to start catching up... All year long the Wylie boys had shown some real signs of greatness as a team and their run through the playoffs was really proving what the team had already knew. During the regional tournament they beat two really good teams, including Kennedale, who had been ranked #3 in the state. The Hirchi team they beat to qualify for the trip to Austin many said were even more talented than the higher ranked Kennedale team.

However, the team they would face in the state semifinals, Dallas Madison, was coming in looking and playing like world beaters. In the first quarter of the game Wylie was doing a real good job of playing their game and keeping it real close. At the end of the quarter, though, Madison hit a big three and in the second quarter they blew it wide open. Then, things didn't get any better in the third quarter. Madison ended up blowing out Wylie in a game that never even looked close. It was a sad ending to the season of the best Wylie team I've seen step on the court, they were just outmatched by a much more talented Madison team, there's no shame in that.

I've always felt if I were in a game like this I'd rather get beaten by 20 points than 2. When you lose by that much, you've lost to the better team, there's no question, when you lose close, you're always questioning yourself looking back at a few plays that could've gone either way trying to figure out what you could have done different. And two days later, Madison beat Houston Yates to win the championship, there's no shame in losing to the better team, especially when they're the best team in the state.

Playing for the Ring...

After their win on Friday, Merkel was set to play Brock for the state championship on Saturday. Brock was ranked #1 in the state and Merkel #2. Merkel was in their first trip to state and Brock was going for their fifth straight championship. And, I hadn't realized it until after Merkel had won the night before and the reporter I went to the game with and I were talking but the last team to win a state title that wasn't Brock was Jim Ned, back in 2008. So, would it only be fitting if Merkel won it and brought the Class 2A state title back to west Texas?

Well, at the start of the game it was close, both teams traded the lead, played really tight defense and was looking like the game was going to be a dogfight. This we along for the first three quarters with the back and forth. Then, in the fourth quarter Brock took things over and Merkel went cold shooting the ball almost at the exact same time. Merkel was still playing really tight defense which was keeping them hanging on by a thread, but their cold shooting kept moving things apart. So, for the fifth straight year Brock won the state title, it was a really good for the first three quarters though.

Merkel's 1st Trip to State...

After a thrilling and dominating performance in the regional tournament the week before, the Merkel Lady Badgers were punching their ticket to Austin for the state tournament for the first time in the school's history. The team had been ranked in the top 2 in the state in pretty much every poll of the year. And, they were coming into Austin with only one loss. So, it's not like it was undeserving, but the Erwin Center is a totally different place than a high school gym and the team they were playing, Poth, was just full of state experience. I think I've seen them in Austin pretty much every trip I've made down there. The only thing I'd never seen them do is win.

Merkel came out looking like they had an obvious case of nerves, but they were able to put that to sleep pretty quick and took a lead that they never gave up. Merkel's two big post players dominated the game and Poth just couldn't deal with the big six footers in the middle. The problem the post players posed gave the guards plenty of room to work and and either get open from the bigs being double-teamed or favorable 1-on-1 match ups. The combination of the two gave Merkel a win and a spot for a chance at a state title in the teams first trip to Austin.

Sweet Repeat...

This one was kind of anti-climactic, after Wylie's win over Kennedale last week, I didn't really have any doubt about their chances of repeating as state champions as long as they went in and played their game and didn't act like they had already won. Well, they didn't do that, however, in the championship game against Celina they faced a lot tougher competition than I thought they would.

The first half of the game was even. Wylie didn't look bad, but Celina was playing a lot better than I had thought they would be. The scored wold have been tied going into half if not for a pretty dumb foul by Celina with .2 seconds left that allowed Wylie to hit a pair of free throws. In the third quarter, as Wylie has pretty much been doing throughout the playoffs, the Lady Bulldogs came out and took over the game. Peyton Little again was doing a great job of passing the ball to open players and driving the lane to make contact. At the start of the fourth quarter Wylie opened it up and pretty much stuck a dagger in the hear of Celina hitting a big three-point shot to go up big and just cruised to the end from there.

There was little doubt who the best player on the team and on the court was, but the rest of Wylie's team was doing a great job playing the part of the "unseen" heroes, especially on the defensive end. Just like the Liberty Hill game a couple of days earlier, this game never had the feeling of Wylie not having the momentum to win the game, there wasn't ever a doubt in my head that they might not win, but Celina did a good job of keeping thinks close enough that it never looked like it would be a blowout either, which is always a good thing and makes for better celebrations after the game.